By: Austin Killeen – Ringside       Photos by Lorrie Gonzalez

Ray Zamora played host to a solid amateur boxing card at Warriors Gym in Albuquerque on Saturday night. There were thirteen bouts with boxers from ages 10 to 27 participating. With 350 passionate boxing fans in attendance, Zamora had a sellout. The spectators were pumped up, in part to some pulsating background music. Its shows like this that provides much-needed experience to our young amateurs. Sigala Boxing had seven fighters on the card and came away with six wins. I couldn’t possibly mention all the unpaid volunteers who give their time to make shows like this doable. I’ll cover those contests that caught my eye first, with no disrespect to other contestants.

 

Bout #13 Gerardo Vasquez, 16 yrs., (Sigala Boxing) Albuquerque, NM won by Dec over Jesus Picon 14 yrs., Warriors Boxing, Albuquerque, NM at 130 lbs. This was my pick for fight of the night, on a card that had many good bouts. Vasquez was the better fighter behind sharp punching and scored a standing-8-count in the opening round. But every time it looked like he would put Picon away, the Warrior boxer would answer back with nice combinations of his own. This went on all three rounds and both boxers where in excellent shape. You know you’re watching a good contest when the fans are standing on their feet shouting encouragement to both fighters.

 

Bout #6 Angel Enriquez, 14 yrs. (Torritos Boxing) Albuquerque, NM won by Dec over Vicente Salinas, 14 yrs. (Cross Town Boxing) Las Cruces, NM at 110 lbs. This was a very entertaining bout. Salinas used distance, Head movement, and clean punching to easily take the first round. The second round Enriquez did a 180-degree turnaround, scoring first and giving Salinas a bloody nose by the end of the round. Salinas didn’t seem able to handle the pressure. The final round was the most competitive, as both boxers wanted the win, but Enriquez’s strong finish captured the judge’s eye.

 

 

Bout #11 Richard Rojas, 25 yrs., Warriors Boxing, Albuquerque, NM won by Dec over Charles Lewis 27 yrs., (JLM Murphy Boxing), Albuquerque, NM at 165 lbs. This bout had a lot of similarities with Bout #10. Lewis has a lot of speed but made the mistake of trading with the more experienced Rojas. Rojas knew how to sit down on his punches and staggered Lewis on several occasions. One positive for Lewis, when hurt he knew how to cover up and fight back. This would make for a good rematch in about six months.

 

 

Bout #10 Andres Rey, 22 yrs, (Perez Boxing) Albuquerque, NM won by TKO over Trevion Boyd, 20 yrs, (Signals Boxing) Albuquerque, NM at 123 lbs. I’ve seen Rey in the gym and in previous bouts, he is showing improvement each time I watch him. Boyd is blessed with speed and once he gains experience he could be a talent to watch. Tonight Rey was very aggressive and sat down on his punches, allowing him to get a TKO.

 

 

Bout #12 Quentin Deleon 18 yrs., (Sigala Boxing) Albuquerque, NM  won by Dec over Sergio Dragon 21 yrs., Warriors Boxing, Albuquerque, NM 120 lbs. This was one of the better fights of the night with Dragon landing some nice combinations. But then for some unknown reason would take his foot off the pedal. Deleon had power and landed cleans shots to the head and body. Dragon took a standing-8-count in round two but continued to score with nice combinations. Dragon saved his best for round three, but it was too little, too late. As both boxers live in the “Duke City” it would be a shame if there wasn’t a Deleon/Dragon II.

 

Bout #5 Azariah Martinez, 12 yrs. (Hereford Contenders) Amarillo, TX won by Dec over Andrew Perez, 12 yrs. (Perez Boxing) Albuquerque, NM at 115 lbs. Perez won the opening round behind a simple one-two and the ability to slip punches. The second round was a complete reversal of the first, with Martinez’s jabs and lateral movement the difference. The final round Perez did well when he took Martinez to the ropes, while the Texas fighter scored well while in the center of the ring. I think Perez’s habit of stepping backward when he had Martinez trapped on the ropes may have cost him in the eyes of the judges.

 

Bout #8 Codi Chavez, 23 yrs. (Power Plant Boxing) Albuquerque, NM won by TKO over Justice Jiron, 20 yrs., (Unattached) Albuquerque, NM at 139 lbs. Chavez was last year’s state GG’s champion and it showed. In the opening round, he mainly worked on his defense, while Jiron attacked to steal the round. Round two was all Chavez fighting from his southpaw stance. Scoring to both the head and body his opponent soon was administered a standing-8-count. Although Jiron was stopped in the second he was game and deserves credit for stealing the opening stanza.

 

 

Bout #9 Priciliano Ruelas, 18 yrs, (Hereford Contenders) Amarillo, TX won by TKO over Estevan Gonzalez, 18 yrs, (Warriors Boxing) Albuquerque, NM at 139 lbs. Ruelas looked to be a very special fighter, using head movement and counterpunching to easily capture the opening round. Gonzalez deserves credit for being game. Gonzalez keeps trying all three rounds, a quality you don’t find in every boxer. After taking two standing-8-counts in the final round, the referee intervened stopping Gonzalez from taking any further punishment. A matchup between Codi Chavez of Bout #8 and Ruelas would make for an excellent contest.

 

Bout #1 David Garcia, 10 yrs. (No Flinching Boxing) Albuquerque, NM won by Dec over Lorenzo Cerrillo, 10 yrs. (Champion Boxing) Albuquerque, NM at 60 lbs. Garcia, a southpaw, controlled the opening round behind a nice right-hand jab while slipping punches. Cerrillo was having trouble finding the correct distance. Round 2 Cerrillo used a windmill attack to score. Unfortunately, this left him open to counterpunching by Garcia. Cerrillo’s best round was the third when he scored with some nice body shots. Garcia continued to fight well and it was the best round of the contest.

 

 

Bout #2 Ray Guzman, 10 yr. (Sigala Boxing) Albuquerque, NM won by Dec over Reward Rascon, 11 yrs. (Warriors Boxing) Albuquerque, NM at 85 lbs. Rascon got off to a good start in the opening round until he was dropped by a straight left to the head. Round two featured some excellent toe-to-toe exchanges with Guzman starting fast and Rascon finishing strong. A left hook to the head dropped Rascon in an otherwise very close fight. Both boxers have a lot of potential.

 

 

 

Bout #3 Tayvin Holiday 13 yrs. (Punch Boxing) Farmington, NM won by TKO over Alejandro Saucedo 13 yrs. (Hereford Contenders) Amarillo, TX at 185 lbs. Holiday used his height to good advantage to score from the outside. Saucedo was game but was unable to get inside where might have had an advantage. You can’t judge a fighter on one fight, but Holiday deserves a second look. He was relaxed and deliberate with his offense.

 

 

 

Bout #4 Jad Rien, 14 yrs. (Sigala Boxing) Albuquerque, NM won by TKO over Elian Olguin, 14 yrs. (Warriors Boxing) Albuquerque, NM at 95 lbs. Rien used a nice jab to win a close first round. Olguin threw a lot of punches but they were mostly off target. In the second round, both boxers continued to come forward, but Olguin was given a standing-8-count. Shortly after that, the referee halted the contest. If Olguin works on his defense he’ll see a big improvement in his overall performance.

 

 

Bout #7 Aaron Lockey, 16 yrs. (Sigala Boxing) Albuquerque, NM won by Dec over Evan Cruz, 16 yrs., Warriors Boxing, Albuquerque, NM at 139 lbs. Lockey had a height advantage and knew how to exploit it. Fighting at distance Lockey continually scored from the outside. When Cruz did get inside he would grab and hold to give up his advantage. This continued in rounds two and three when Cruz took a standing-8-count. If Cruz learns to bang on the inside instead of clinching, he will see an instant improvement.

 

 

The referees were George Romero, Sid Ware, and David Rios.